A jade landscape boulder with a battle scene, Qianlong seal, first half 20th century. Photo Bonhams.

Of irregular ovoid form carved in high relief with deep undercutting to portray two warriors battling on horseback surrounded by trees and rocky crags beneath crenelated city walls, the reverse left partially rough, one side incised with a four-line poem on a military expedition beyond the Great Wall by the Tang poet Wang Changling and bearing the name of the Qianlong emperor along with the two-character seal; the pale gray-green matrix polished to a soft luster, displaying numerous natural fissure lines, cloudy white veins and tiny russet inclusions. 6 3/4in (17cm) high. Sold for US$ 35,000 (€25,577)

Provenance: Sotheby's, Los Angeles, 1970s, by repute

Bonhams. ASIAN DECORATIVE ARTS. San Francisco. 18 Dec 2013 - www.bonhams.com